The Mountains of the Pamirs in Tajikistan and 16 wooden tserkvas, or churches, in Poland and Ukraine have been added to the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural organization (UNESCO).
The World Heritage List catalogues sites determined to be of significant cultural or physical importance to humanity.
The Mountains of the Pamirs, a natural wonder that contains the longest valley glacier outside the polar region, are Tajikistan's first natural World Heritage site.
At its June 21 meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, UNESCO also inscribed as World Heritage cultural sites 16 wooden tserkvas in the Carpathian Mountains of Poland and Ukraine.
UNESCO said they were "outstanding examples of the once widespread Orthodox ecclesiastical timber building tradition in the Slavic countries."
The World Heritage List catalogues sites determined to be of significant cultural or physical importance to humanity.
The Mountains of the Pamirs, a natural wonder that contains the longest valley glacier outside the polar region, are Tajikistan's first natural World Heritage site.
At its June 21 meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, UNESCO also inscribed as World Heritage cultural sites 16 wooden tserkvas in the Carpathian Mountains of Poland and Ukraine.
UNESCO said they were "outstanding examples of the once widespread Orthodox ecclesiastical timber building tradition in the Slavic countries."